Twenty-one birders attended the compilations Tuesday night for three Christmas Bird Counts sponsored by the Bristol Bird Club -- Bristol, Mountain City/Shady Valley, Kingsport. It was held in the lodge at Steele Creek Park. Compiler Richard Lewis will soon report the official numbers for the Bristol Count. Online reports for Kingsport (compiler Bill Grigsby) and Mountain City/Shady Valley (compiler Rob Biller) will be posted soon. Those attending the compilation were: Bill Grigsby, John Moyle, Jennifer Kennedy, Rack Cross, Rick Knight, Dianne Draper, April Mattes, Don Holt, Carolyn Coffey, Michele Sparks, Richard Lewis, Wallace Coffey, Chris O'Bryan, Charlie Parker, Ellen Parker, Tom McNeil, Roy Knispel, Larry McDaniel, Ron Carrico, Rob Biller and Janice Martin. The Bristol Christmas Bird Count, the region's oldest count first conducted in 1931, was held Sunday, 28 Dec 2008. Twenty-two (22) observers in 6 parties found 83 species which is average for the past 10 years. The average for the past 10 years is 82.9. The average number of species for the previous 20 years is 77.8. The all-time high was 91 species in 2004 which is the record high count for Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. The best birds and interesting observations were: Brown-headed Nuthatch at Washington County Park on the shore of South Holston Lake in Virginia just north of Musick's Campground. It was heard by Rick Knight who was birding with Ellen Parker. Sandhill Crane (3). Going to roost at Musick's Campground on South Holston Lake. Three birds were seen going to roost there on the 2000 count -- the only other time the species has been recorded on the count. Seen this year by Rick Knight and Ellen Parker. A House Wren found by Rack Cross is a notable bird.. Ruddy Duck and Bald Eagles were nice finds. The Black-crowned Night Heron was not found on the count at Clear Creek Lake. It was not found there last year. It had been there the previous five or six years. However, it was seen the day before the count in 2007. Canada Geese (654) were up from 338 last year when the species continued their decline in the count circle. The population peaked at 882 bird in 2001 following a steady 20 year increase after having been introduced to the area in the late 1970's. Birds first showed up with a population liftoff in 1980 and doubled on the Bristol count from 2000 to 2001. It had quickly diminished about 66 percent. Likewise, Mallards were up across the count circle with 510 birds. This is dramatically lower than the 2000 count when the population exploded and doubled in one year to a total of 1,349 birds. The Mallard population then dropped back to 312 in 2002. This year's count is well above the 10 year average for the species as well as the 20 year average. We are not sure if the peak represented a large influx of migrant Mallards wintering here in 2000 or if something more related to the trend of the Canada Goose was taking place in the count circle. Three (3) Eared Grebe marked the ninth year the species has been found on the count, including its first appearance in 1996. Of interest is the Bufflehead wintering population which grew quickly in the early 1990's with the construction of the South Holston Weir Dam. By 1998 we were enjoying about 300 birds per count but that number had plunged about 50% by 2004 & 2005. Numbers rebounded to near normal last year but were down considerably to 104 this year. Meanwhile Hooded Mergansers have enjoyed a great deal of prosperity at Middlebrook Lake and Clear Creek Lake in Bristol and had decline until last year but had a nice rebound this count year. In 2001 to 2004 we enjoyed record years at about 300 birds but that had dropped significantly to about 77 birds. The count was back up this year with 229 birds. The birds often move back and forth between the two impoundments within the winter season . A Merlin seen at Clear Creek Lake by the party of Coffey, Andy Jones, Michele Sparks, Chris O'Bryan, Charlie Parker and Carolyn Coffey was a nice find. Jones made a number of photos of the bird. This falcon was seen yearly for four years between 2000 and 2003 but had not been seen for about 5 years. The photo shown here was taken of the Clear Creek Merlin seen on this year's Bristol CBC. It was taken by Andy Jones. A total of 1150 Ring-billed Gulls was a nice count. Bonaparte's Gull and Herring Gull made significant showings. Eastern Towhee was within one of the previous record high count. Pine Siskins (177) was the highest total in 20 years. The record number was 409 in the invasion year of 1989. American Goldfinch hit a record high of 430, much more than the previous high of 292 in 2000. The total individuals was 10,082 and is about the 10 year average. Canada Goose 654 Mute Swan 1 (not counted in species total) Gadwall 24 American Wigeon 6 Mallard 510 Northern Pintail 3 Redhead 2 Ring-necked Duck 45 Bufflehead 104 Hooded Merganser 229 Ruddy Duck 1 Ruffed Grouse 1 Wild Turkey 44 Common Loon 4 Pied-billed Grebe 59 Eared Grebe 3 Great Blue Heron 28 Black Vulture 105 Turkey Vulture 84 Bald Eagle 2 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 Cooper's Hawk 1 Red-tailed Hawk 9 American Kestrel 18 Merlin 1 (several photos) American Coot 49 Sandhill Crane 3 Killdeer 2 Bonaparte's Gull 7 Ring-billed Gull 1150 Herring Gull 5 Rock Pigeon 395 Mourning Dove 573 Eastern Screech Owl 8 Great Horned Owl 4 Barred Owl 2 Belted Kingfisher 16 Red-bellied Woodpecker 34 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 8 Downy Woodpecker 39 Hairy Woodpecker 11 Northern Flicker 37 Pileated Woodpecker 14 Eastern Phoebe 8 Loggerhead Shrike 1 Blue Jay 210 American Crow 750 Common Raven 2 Carolina Chickadee 142 Tufted Titmouse 108 Red-breasted Nuthatch 6 White-breasted Nuthatch 40 Brown-headed Nuthatch 1(new to count and region) Brown Creeper 5 Carolina Wren 138 House Wren 1 Winter Wren 8 Golden-crowned Kinglet 28 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 7 Eastern Bluebird 131 Hermit Thrush 16 American Robin 73 Northern Mockingbird 128 Brown Thrasher 1 European Starling 1935 Cedar Waxwing 312 Yellow-rumped Warbler 56 Eastern Towhee 56 Chipping Sparrow 9 Field Sparrow 51 Fox Sparrow 3 Song Sparrow 205 Swamp Sparrow 18 White-throated Sparrow 268 White-crowned Sparrow 29 Dark-eyed Junco 104 Northern Cardinal 221 Red-winged Blackbird 1 Eastern Meadowlark 9 Purple Finch 7 House Finch 95 (low number) Pine Siskin 177 American Goldfinch 430 (record high for count) House Sparrow 44 The species totals for each party were: 59 Larry McDaniel party 57 Rick Knight party 56 Rob Biller party 53 Wallace Coffey party 51 Rack Cross party 48 Richard Lewis party. Footnotes: Richard Lewis compiled the count for his 28th consecutive year. Wallace Coffey participated in the count for his 50th consecutive year. Let's go birding..... Wallace Coffey Bristol, TN